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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26934898">Paratime</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niullum/pseuds/Niullum'>Niullum</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batman Bingo 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dimension Travel, Gen, Martha and Thomas Wayne Live, Multiverse, On Hiatus, Soft Parent Bruce Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:15:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26934898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niullum/pseuds/Niullum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They’re stranded into an unknown universe with no backup, no allies, and no way to go back home. Except Bruce will do whatever it takes to get a solution, even if he has to get in touch with the Batman of this other world.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Batfamily Members &amp; Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne &amp; Martha Wayne &amp; Thomas Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batman Bingo 2020 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>189</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Paratime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Looking back, every sign of interdimensional travel had been clear as day. The weather, people’s vintage cars, and even radio seemed strange, but Bruce only realized this wasn’t their universe until it was far too late.</p><p>The moment his red-rimmed and overworked eyes finally noticed the vast differences upon entering the city, his kids were dozing off in the back seat.</p><p>As the proud father of four sons, one daughter, and many parenting decades under his belt, Bruce knew better than to wake them up. Waking up sleep-deprived kids was the perfect recipe for a disaster.</p><p>Unless you want screaming and more headaches in your way. Which considering the possibility of interdimensional travel that could be idly unadvised. Bruce lowered the radio eand kept both hands holding the steering wheel with the clear intentions of driving downtown.</p><p>All while the more optimistic—or delusional, depending on who you asked—kept reassuring him this was just his tired brain playing with him. God knows how many times he’d reached the wrong conclusion due to lack of sleep.</p><p>Except this time, there was this hunch, this oppressive feeling in his chest that was slowly intensifying with every mile Bruce drove, telling him something was <em>wrong, but</em> he couldn’t pin-point what exactly.</p><p>His heart started beating faster when he looked around the streets and buildings, eyes darting to every corner to see what was wrong. There were differences so small and subtle that at first glance a common American wouldn’t notice, but like the true-born and raised Gothamite Bruce was, he knew this wasn’t <em>his</em> home.</p><p>He pressed the gas pedal harder and went downtown. Dick’s beloved gymnastic store was gone. His fingers slowly began to tremble and turned right to see Jason’s frequent chili dog food truck. It didn’t exist. He turned left this time more desperate and traveled all the way to check Damian’s favorite park.</p><p><em>Gone</em>.</p><p>Went south.</p><p>Tim’s favorite video store, also <em>gone. </em>His eyes widened, and he glanced down at the radio. His fingers reached out to change the station. Instead of the soft pop tunes, Tim was secretly fond of—despite his remarks on “classical music”—it was...the same kind of music Bruce heard Alfred put while growing up. It didn’t make any kind of sense whatsoever.</p><p>He glanced up and there was no Wayne’s enterprise in any billboard, not a mention of “Wayne”, no nothing. Almost as if he’d never existed in the first place.</p><p>One thought passed through his mind: this wasn’t <em>his</em> Gotham.</p><p>It hit him by surprise so much Bruce almost hit the car in front of him. The grip on the steering wheel tightened, hard enough to make the tip of his fingers go white with the sheer force of his grip.</p><p>He took a deep breath and counted to ten.</p><p>Anything to keep his feelings in check and not awaken his kids. Even so, it was hard to calm down because everyone knew that his biggest fear was the unknown, the inability to schedule and plan ahead. Not knowing where he was going or what would happen next. Forced to drift like an abandoned ship into murky and dangerous waters.</p><p>Bruce hated that feeling with every inch of his heart and soul. The worst part of all was that this city just had the faintest trace of <em>his</em> city, almost deceiving you to think this was Gotham when in reality it wasn't.</p><p>Four miles later, Bruce stopped the engine and took a deep breath. He tried to mimic the same breathing exercise Dinah often told him in their counseling sessions. <em>Inhale, hold for four seconds exhale.</em></p><p>In and out.</p><p>He stayed like that just until the trembling was manageable and then...he <em>heard</em> something. A soft moan that made Bruce glance from the inside mirror. It was no other than his eldest son Dick who stirred at the lack of movement and rested his head against Jason’s clavicle— completely out and hidden a dark-red hoodie—with all intentions to keep napping.</p><p>Bruce let out the breath he’d been (subconsciously) holding. The rest of his kids didn't even move, too tired after their latest mission. The skin around Bruce’s eye softened in a mix of amusement when he heard Damian soft snores.</p><p>Barely perceptible but adorable sounds nonetheless that warmed part of Bruce’s old heart. He let out a chuckle when he saw how young and <em>innocent </em>his youngest looked like.</p><p>A rare occurrence because Damian often hid these parts of himself, thinking it could be considered a weakness and therefore exploited.</p><p>Tim, his middle child, on the other hand, was hidden by Jay’s hoodie, judging by the slightly darkened stain Bruce could tell Tim had been drooling. A thing Tim only did whenever he passed out. Probably crashed after the mix of the post adrenaline rush, the usual aftermath effect that came whenever they finally solved another complicated case.</p><p>This time it took almost two weeks to solve it. A scientist, wanting to travel back in time to save his wife from being killed. A poor soul who happened to be at the wrong time and at the wrong place.</p><p>
  <em>Shot down by one of Sionis’s men. </em>
</p><p>Another snore disrupted his thoughts and Bruce blinked at the domestic scene, wanting to memorize every detail forever. Take a picture of this moment and cherish it forever. It was rare for all of his boys to look so relaxed, and even less for them to look like the young boy they were.</p><p>Scarce moments like these were treasured and kept close to his heart because if there was one thing Bruce felt guilty about was how much <em>little time</em> he got to spend with them.</p><p><em>I’ll make more time for them</em>, Bruce thought to himself and opened the car’s door to check if the artifact they had recovered was resting in the car’s trunk.</p><p>Bruce didn’t expect meeting the harsh sweeping cold hitting his face. Cold and freezing air. Another difference, because in <em>his </em>Gotham it was just turning summer.</p><p>And the clothes he was currently wearing were totally not opted for this weather. A shiver ran up to his spine as Bruce walked to the back of his car, his heart beating fast because there was only one explanation to this.</p><p>His numb fingers opened the trunk and right as he thought, the time-traveling artifact the scientist had been working on was gone.</p><p>
  <em>Multiverse travel.</em>
</p><p>Bruce’s biggest nightmare.</p><p>“Damn it,” he growled out, closing the trunk with force.</p>
<hr/><p>Bruce spent the rest of his day planning ahead and forming strategies. Remembering any emergency plan that could be similar to a situation like this and putting them to effect, but it didn’t go as smoothly as he wanted, because well, many technical difficulties came with entering another universe.</p><p>For starters, every single credit card and fake identification were useless now. He hadn’t dared to steal a wallet when he saw the chance—buying whatever snack he could afford with the limited spare of cash he’d got—to see if the credentials were similar, but at least they used the same money currency.</p><p>That meant they didn’t want to attract the police or worse, a federal agent's attention. They would all have to lie low. Like an undercover mission, Bruce mused.</p><p>Bruce entered the car, closed the door, and sighed. He glanced at the grocery bag that held the four pitiful energy bars he bought with the leftover cash he found. Enough to survive a couple of days, maybe a week if he stretched it thin and rationed their meals but... eventually it would run out.</p><p>Another pang of worry filled his guts at the reminder. Time was ticking and every minute counted. They needed to see if another Justice League existed. Check if a vigilante lived in this city.</p><p>Or someone that could help them get <em>back </em>to <em>their</em> world.</p><p>“B?” a half-sleep voice murmured, disrupting his train of spiraling thoughts. Bruce inhaled and turned his head. It was no other than Jason. “Somethin’ happened?” A brief pause and this type Jason added with a frown.</p><p>“Why are we not <em>moving</em>?”</p><p>“Hello Jason,” Bruce replied warmly and ignored all urges to fuzz over him like when he was younger. He had the feeling Jason would not appreciate it. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>“As if someone had hit me in the face,” Jason declared with a yawn and rubbed his eyes to clear all sense of sleepiness. He turned his eyes and added.“Did you knock us out?”</p><p>“You passed out,” Bruce corrected, not knowing if he should feel insulted or not. “And it was only <em>one </em>time Jason.”</p><p>“More than once,” Jason said under his breath. He held his hands up and raised one finger as he numbered out the list. “Alfred’s birthday, or like the two-face and ice-cream incident,” He trailed and frowned some more when he glanced outside the window.</p><p>“It looks different.”</p><p>Bruce took an energy bar out of the paper brown bag and held it. “Care for a snack?”</p><p>Jason looked at him..trying to know what Bruce was hiding.</p><p>“What’s going on?” He asked, this time unsure.</p><p>Bruce sighed and accommodated himself in the seat.</p><p>“It’s a long story,” Bruce said and frowned when he noticed the lack of seatbelt. He snapped his fingers. “Seatbelt please.”</p><p>Jason snorted and turned up the radio volume.</p><p>“Sure thing,” and just because his eldest is simply <em>Jason</em>, he added. “<em>Old man</em>.”</p><p>Bruce sighed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading this! Hope you like this! &lt;3 If so, please let me know in the comments! Kudos, bookmarks and comments spark joy and are appreciated &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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